Defying the bearish sentiment in the markets on Monday, ICICI Bank's share price rose by 2 per cent, reaching an intraday high of Rs 1,234.4 per share on the BSE. With a 1.5 per cent gain at the close, the stock emerged as the top performer on both the BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 indices.
Multi-asset funds offer exposure to gold, which tends to do well in times of geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Most analysts have downgraded the stock of SBI Cards and Payments (SBI Card) as the credit card issuer posted weak results during the December quarter (Q3) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24). The sub-par show, analysts said, was for the eighth straight quarter. With this, they have slashed their earnings estimates by as much as 20 per cent over FY24-26 amid near-term pressure points in the company's growth outlook.
'By investing in a basket of funds, FoFs can help minimise the impact of underperforming funds, thus reducing overall investment risk.'
Only investors with knowledge of cryptocurrencies, long-term conviction, and a long horizon should invest in this asset class.
Towards the end of February, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the risk weighting on banks loans to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs; including to microfinance institutions, or MFIs) to 100 - back to its November 2023 position - from 125. It is only a partial relief though. "Higher risk weighting on unsecured lending continues to be in place while the same on bank funding to NBFCs has been done away with. "This is a positive step by RBI," says Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Tata Capital.
'Investors who remain calm, consistent, and disciplined through short-term volatility are usually the ones who benefit most in the long run.'
MMFs invest in fixed-income instruments maturing in less than one year, minimising interest-rate risk.
'As we navigate uncertain waters, a conservative approach to largecap investing could provide a strategic advantage.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Only experienced investors with a high risk appetite, a grasp of market cycles, and comfort with volatility and timing risk should invest.
'It is observed that some of our branches are already losing good balances in their savings deposits as well as fixed deposits, which are maturing, to the other banks.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
State-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday posted a 38 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 19,013 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2025 helped by lower expenses. The country's biggest insurer had earned a profit of Rs 13,763 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
'Value index funds are most appropriate for long-term investors who can withstand deeper drawdowns.'
'It's advisable not to go overboard on a banking sector fund or any other sector fund.'
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is discussing with mutual funds (MFs) a proposal on introducing new total expense ratio (TER) slabs linked to the total equity and debt assets by replacing the current ones that are linked to assets of an individual scheme. Senior MF executives confirmed that Sebi had held discussions on this matter with AMCs. Such a change is expected to lead to a lower TER cap for bigger asset management companies (AMCs).
Stopping SIPs during a downturn undermines the benefit of rupee-cost averaging.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with her team of bureaucrats, delved into the fine print of the 2024-25 Budget documents in a press conference, detailing the government's road map on bringing down the debt-to-GDP ratio and bold tax measures.
Bank credit growth is expected to moderate this financial year after a robust 16 per cent estimated for last financial year, driven by strong economic activity and retail credit demand. There are three reasons for this: a statistical high-base effect given the strong growth seen last financial year, revision in risk weights by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and relatively slower economic activity.
The hospitality industry has around 212,000 rooms, with an industry size of about Rs 82,000 crore. The industry could grow at an annual rate of 10.5 per cent for the next three financial years, despite a quiet Q1FY25. The demand will be driven by domestic travellers, who will contribute roughly 50 per cent of the growth, while foreign tourists will account for 30 per cent.
Despite a shaky Q3, conviction over the stock remained high, with 65 per cent of the analysts polled on Bloomberg retaining their 'buy' recommendation.
More than 50 per cent of SIP accounts come from semi-urban and rural areas.
Asset Management Companies (AMCs) demonstrated improved business metrics in the first quarter ended June 2023 (Q1FY24), but a sharp run-up in stocks leaves little room for further upside in the immediate term, say analysts. During this quarter, HDFC AMC reported a 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in revenue from operations at Rs 575 crore. Nippon India's revenue from operations went up 12 per cent to Rs 354 crore.
ICICI Bank on Saturday said its March quarter consolidated net profit grew 18.5 per cent to Rs 11,672 crore, helped by lower provisions. On a standalone basis, the second largest private sector lender showed a 17.4 per cent growth in its profit after tax at Rs 10,708 crore for the reporting quarter against Rs 9,122 crore in the year-ago period. For fiscal 2023-24, its standalone net profit grew to Rs 40,888 crore from Rs 31,896 crore a year ago.
Fund managers's compensation is largely tied to the assets they manage and scheme performance.
Why try to time the market when time in the market works better? History shows that patient investors who stay the course often walk away with the real rewards, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Largecap companies are generally less vulnerable to economic slowdowns than their mid- and smallcap counterparts.
Privately, many bankers admit their immediate goal is not growth but slowing the erosion of Casa deposits, reveals Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
All investors should ideally have a 10 to 15 per cent allocation to gold. Whether they invest in gold ETFs or SGBs should depend on their investment horizon.
The Indian financial system's asset quality improved despite the pandemic, but it could be due to special dispensations by the regulator, and banks would likely see increased stress on their books once the schemes expire. According to the annual trend and progress report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released on Tuesday, the data available for this financial year so far indicate that banks' bad debts have moderated while provision coverage ratios (PCRs), capital buffers as well as profitability indicators have improved relative to pre-pandemic levels.
'The way the bank is doing in the past 4-5 quarters, no reason to see why we will not be able to achieve that.'
In view of the rising number of mobile and internet banking users, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to tighten norms related to the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) by increasing the run-off factor for retail deposits. "Banking has undergone rapid transformation in recent years. "While increased usage of technology has facilitated the ability to make instantaneous bank transfers and withdrawals, it has also led to a concomitant increase in risks, requiring proactive management," the RBI said in the draft guidelines released on Thursday.
'If their allocation to certain segments have become high due to strong returns over the past three-four years, they should rebalance their portfolios and bring them in line with their long-term asset allocation.'
Data from Value Research analysed on five-year, three-year and one-year performances of active equity schemes to pick the best performers in popular scheme categories.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
The improvement in the performance of actively managed mutual fund (MF) schemes is acting as a key tailwind for the nearly Rs 50 trillion industry, Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) said in a report. The report adds that the two largest listed asset management companies (AMCs) - HDFC and Nippon India - are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries. "The industry has a solid track record of delivering alpha on 10-year returns (70-80 per cent of assets under management (AUM) beat the benchmark), with shorter duration performance also on an upswing.
Only investors with a higher risk appetite should enter these funds.
LIC Housing Finance (LICHF) delivered a healthy FY24 with improvements in net interest margin (NIM) and credit costs and an improved return on assets of 1.7 per cent compared to an average of 1.3 per cent between FY14-FY23. Loan growth was low due to technology upgrades to the platform in H1FY24, though momentum improved in H2FY24. In Q4FY24, the net interest income (NII) came in at Rs 2,250 crore.
'Focus will be on smaller loan amounts to meet the needs of affordable homebuyers.'
